HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is in The Philippines pursuing a partnership to boost human resources for Jamaica’s public health sector.

Tufton’s travel to The Philippines follows the visit of that country’s Secretary of Health Dr Teodoro Herbosa to Jamaica in January when the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on the health workforce in both countries.

“Since arriving in The Philippines we have had a series of bilateral discussions — involving my team and his— to work out the details of a training programme between the two countries for specialist nurses,” a news release from the health and wellness ministry quotes Tufton.

“The idea is to have Jamaican specialist nurses trained remotely and then to have our trainees coming on rotation to hospitals here [in The Philippines],” Tufton added.

“We are also working through possibilities for health-care workers from the Philippines coming to work in Jamaica, as well as to have faculty members from The Philippines do training in Jamaica,” he added.

Both countries signed the MOU on health cooperation at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston on Thursday, January 23, 2025 — day two of the first-ever Health and Wellness Career Expo and Employment Fair.

That event, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Wellness in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, saw the participation of Secretary Herbosa who was present for the opening ceremony a day earlier.

“By pooling our expertise and resources we can offer better training and ensure an equitable distribution of health-care professionals,” Tufton said at the time.

The MOU provides for faculty or trainer exchanges, as well as training and certification of health professionals. It also allows for capacity-building and knowledge sharing in biotechnology, medical equipment, epidemiology and health-care management; and exchange visits for specialist nurses and other professionals.

The efforts to partner on the health workforce in the two countries come as Jamaica and other small island developing states face challenges with their human resources for health. Those challenges include competition to retain health workers, including nurses, who are routinely recruited by overseas employers from the developed world.